OSCEOLA -- Elkhart Police Department Cpl. Daniel Raymond Drust, 36, of Osceola, died Sunday (Aug. 3, 2008) from injuries in a skydiving accident in Flora, Ind.

He was born Jan. 17, 1972, in Goshen to Raymond S. and Betty J. (Wilson) Drust. On Feb. 19, 2005, he married Jennifer E. Bonder in Edwardsburg, Mich.

She survives along with a daughter, Kayla Grove, at home; two stepchildren, Kyle and Evan Alicea of Illinois; his parents, Raymond S. and Betty J. Drust of Bristol; two brothers, Vincent Joseph and Joe F. Drust, both of Bristol; and two sisters, Jeanne R. Drust of Goshen and Theresa V. (Matthew) Whitlock of South Bend.

Cpl. Drust worked with the Elkhart Police Department for the past six years. He was a member of the SWAT team, and worked as a field training officer and as a crime scene technician on the Special Response Team. He had served with the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department, in the county jail, and as an officer with the Mishawaka Police Department.

He was a 1990 graduate of Marian High School, Mishawaka, and earned his Associate in Applied Science in criminal justice from Indiana University South Bend. Cpl. Drust loved to play Xbox with his brother, had a great sense of humor and was known for his practical jokes and especially his laugh. He enjoyed motorcycle riding and skydiving.

Cpl. Drust was a member of Elkhart FOP Lodge 52.

Friends may call from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Billings Funeral Home, 812 Baldwin St., Elkhart. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at noon Monday at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 1505 N. Main St., Elkhart. The Rev. James Seculoff and Police Chaplain Jim Bontrager will officiate.

Burial and graveside services will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Osceola, with police honors rendered.

Memorials may be given to the Drust Memorial Fund in care of any INOVA Federal Credit Union. Visit www.billingsfuneralhome.com to send online condolences.